1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma address information display device used for a display apparatus and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The development of information display devices such as flat panel displays has already passed through the stage of small-size, monochrome devices realizing binarization, and proceeded to the stage of large-size, colored devices, gray-scale display and moving-image displays. The performance of such advanced information display devices has been improved year by year.
The configuration of a plasma address liquid crystal display device as one of such conventional information display devices will be described with reference to FIG. 5.
Referring to FIG. 5, the plasma address liquid crystal display device 300 includes a color filter substrate 30A, a plasma address cell 30B, and a liquid crystal layer 26 formed by injecting a liquid crystal material in a space between the color filter substrate 30A and the plasma address cell 30B. A backlight 32 is disposed on the surface of the plasma address cell 30B opposite to the surface thereof in contact with the liquid crystal layer 26.
The color filter substrate 30A includes a polarizing plate 21a, a transparent substrate 22a, color filters 23, transparent electrodes 24, and an alignment film 25a. The plasma address cell 30B includes a polarizing plate 21b, a transparent substrate 22b, partitions 28, anodes 29A and cathodes 29C as plasma discharge electrodes, a transparent thin substrate 27, and an alignment film 25b.
A rare gas such as He, Ne, Ar, Xe, or the like is sealed in a plurality of plasma discharge spaces 31 each surrounded by the transparent substrate 22b, the adjacent partitions 28, and the transparent thin substrate 27. The pressure of the rare gas in the plasma discharge spaces 31 is in the range of 10 to 10.sup.4 Pa, preferably in the range of 10.sup.2 to 5.times.10.sup.3 Pa.
The conventional plasma address liquid crystal display device with the configuration described above has problems as follows, as disclosed in "IDW '96, LA1-3, p.423". Metal particles of the anodes 29A and the cathodes 29C as the plasma discharge electrodes may attach to the transparent thin substrate 27 due to a sputtering phenomenon occurring during plasma generation. The attachment of metal particles reduces the transmittance of the transparent thin substrate 27 and thus the plasma address liquid crystal display device 300, and also makes the transparent thin substrate 27 conductive, thereby generating color mixing.